1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wrestling ear guards, i.e., protective headgear used by wrestlers and the like, adopted to protect against injuries to the ears.
2. Prior Art
Protective head gear, i.e., wrestling helmets and wrestling ear guards, of the type to which this invention pertains are well known in the art. Most athletic sanctioning bodies require the use of such headgear in order to compete. Typically such headgear includes a pair of ear covering, cup-like guards secured to the wearer""s head by means of straps that extend over the top of the head, around the rear of the head, and under the chin. The guards, which cover and protect the wearer""s ears, contain a pad which is necessary for the wearer""s comfort and protection. The ear pads are shaped in a generally triangular form to provide an ear receiving pocket which extends around the outside of the ear and against the wearer""s head.
Examples of this type of headgear are described in the following references:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,277,994 and 2,886,818 to Roberts describes an ear guard for athletic headgear that includes a cup having a marginal flange and a U-shaped rubber member enclosing the marginal flange attached by rivets. The two ear guards are held in place by a suitable number of properly arranged head and chin bands which are attached to each other and the marginal flange by rivets. The headgear includes bands that are adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,596 to Keen describes ear protecting headgear having a pair of ear guards each having a substantially rigid inner shell and peripheral flanges. Each ear guard is covered by a shock absorbing material covering the entire outer surface and inner surfaces of the flanges. A plurality of adjustable non-elastic head straps connect the ear guards.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,921 to Helm describes wrestling headgear, similar to the aforementioned Roberts references, but having additional ventilation covered by a protective gridwork to prevent the insertion of a finger therethrough.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,316 to Pukish, Jr. describes a padded ear piece for use in wrestling headgear that prevents the rapid change of air pressure adjacent the wearer""s ear opening. The head straps are formed of elastic material and are affixed to the padded ear pieces. One of the chin straps is connected to the ear piece by means of a releasable coupler such as a snap fastener, buckle or VELCRO hook and loop fastener.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,482 to Holden describes various wrestling headgear that include an ear covering having a peripheral flange comprised of a rubbery material. The inner shells of the ear guards are of rigid construction, typically of molded plastic, aluminum, spun glass or polyethylene. Additionally, a plurality of VELCRO hook and loop straps and a snap fasten chin strap are used to retain the headgear on the wrestler.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,611 to Beguin describes hearing protector ear cups supported by a lightweight head harness formed of flexible, substantially non-elastic straps. Attachment of the hearing protection cups to the head harness is effected by looping depending straps through a slotted rigid ear cup mounting ring within which the ear cup is pivotally mounted.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,815 to Reese describes a wrestler""s helmet made from a continuous piece of knitted fabric which is elastic in mutual perpendicular directions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,844 to Hori, et al. describes a configuration around the ears of a motorcycle helmet to prevent whistling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,213 to Rovani describes a shock absorbing system for a football helmet comprising a web of a plurality of air filled compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,613 to Schulze describes a helmet having an energy absorbing and sizing means mounted on the inside surface of the shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,274 to Buckland describes an adjustable ear cup retention harness adapted for use within rigid helmet shells. The helmet includes downwardly extending, inwardly concave sides which extend over and cover the ears of the wearer. The ear cups are provided with yieldable pads around the periphery of the parts of the ear cup intended to touch the wearer""s head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,861 to Marchello describes an ear pad for fastening within the ear protective guard of a helmet. The ear pad is formed of a thick, resilient, rubber-like sheet material that is molded with a central ear receiving pocket surrounded by bulged, cushion-forming strips which engage the wearer""s head around the ear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,672 to Shrack describes a protective headgear designed for use in water sports. The headgear has a ring-shaped member adapted to surround a wearer""s head in combination with a cross-member extending from opposite edges of the ring shaped member. A pair of ear flaps extend downwardly from opposite edges of the ring shaped member. The device also has a sun visor and an adjustable chin strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,985 to Dubner, et al. describes a protective headgear designed to protect the ears of wrestlers. The headgear includes a pair of ear guards having a shock absorbing inner foam surface with a substantially triangular ridge adapted to engage the head surrounding the ear. An outer vinyl covers the ear guard and an intermediate foam is bonded to the outer vinyl and inner foam surface. Top and rear head straps are included to attach the gear to the wearer""s head by VELCRO hook and loop means and a chin strap is used to connect the lower portions of the guard to engage the wearer""s chin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,980 to Zarotti describes a padding element for a crash helment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,563 to Flynn describes a flexible securing strap having VELCRO hook and loop material at the ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,143 to Marchello describes an ear guard assembly with a removable pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,420 to Dobbs, et al, describes a protective headgear for wrestler formed of nylon netting material that covers substantially the entire scalp.
Applicant is aware of the Brute MAXX ear guard that is a one-piece fabric ear guard have a front, rear strap and chin strap having VELCRO hook and loop closures.
All of the above protective headgear suffer from certain problems. Foremost among these problems is that the headgear may be uncomfortable and/or not provide insufficient coverage for the ears of the wrestler. Another serious shortcoming of most of the prior art devices is that a particular design is adaptable be worn by many individuals, each having a different size and shape head. In use, the wrestling ear guard is subjected to various pulls, tugs, pushes and shears. It thus becomes very difficult to have a single design of an ear guard that can remain substantially immobile on the wrestlers head during competition. Some previous efforts attempted to correct this problem through the use of a multiplicity of head straps. This, however, creates the additional problem of providing adjustable straps which are not easy to use and render the already uncomfortable headgear even more so.
Cushioning elements filled with a gel cushioning material are well known in the art for use in shoes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,295 to Ito describes a gel cushioning member for a shoe formed so as to have a plurality of chambers. When the cushioning member is placed in the recess formed in the sole plate, the filled chambers contact the bottom thereof and air chambers are formed between the filled chambers and the bottom of the recess. The air in the air chambers is compressed as the sole plate and the cushioning members are deformed by shock upon landing. See also U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 300,084 and 300,085 to Ito, et al. and U.S. Design Pat. No. 297,381 to Sugiyama. Other gel containing cushions for use in shoes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,115,927 and 5,493,792 to Bates, et al. Shoes containing such gel filled cushioning elements are sold, for example, by ASICS Tiger Corporation, Fountain Valley, Calif. Such cushioning elements have not been used in headgear, particularly wrestling headgear. U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,021 to Tsujino describes wrestling ear guards, wherein each ear guard has a generally disk-like core having a peripheral edge portion and a layer of gel cushioning material, preferably silicon gel cushioning material covers the interior surface of the peripheral edge.
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel headgear for wrestlers and the like that will protect their ears from injuries.
It is another object of this invention to provide wrestling ear guards having crescent shaped shells that protect the ears.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide headgear for wrestlers, the headgear having a crescent shape for providing a snug and comfortable fit about a wearer""s ears.
It is a further object of this invention to provide headgear for wrestlers, the headgear having a crescent shape and an angled profile for fitting in close contact along a user""s ears to minimize interference with a user""s peripheral vision.
It is yet an additional object of this invention to provide headgear for wrestlers, the headgear having a crescent shape and a plurality of vents for allowing a user to hear through the headgear.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide headgear for wrestlers that has a cushioning element surrounding the ears to provide enhanced protection for the ears.
It is a further object of this invention to provide protective headgear which is relatively comfortable to wear during the athletic activity.
It is another object of this invention to provide protective headgear that is securely affixed to the wearer""s head with a minimum of straps that are easily adjustable, but which do not provide an irritant and/or will not come out of adjustment during the athletic activity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide protective headgear that is easily manufactured and competitively priced.
Still another object of this invention is to improve the gripping surface of the ear pad surrounding the ear during violent wrestling activities.
These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the improved protective headgear of this invention. The headgear includes a pair of ear guards. Each ear guard has a generally crescent core having a crescent-shaped forward edge, a peripheral edge portion, an interior surface and an exterior surface. Preferably, a pattern of vent openings is provided in the core that connect the interior and exterior surfaces. A one-piece removable ear guard covering of a flexible material covers each ear guard. The covering preferably has a core portion with vent openings proximate to the vent openings in the core. The covering also includes a peripheral edge portion that covers the exterior surface of the peripheral edge, and extends about a portion of the interior surface along the peripheral edge. A layer of gel cushioning material, preferably silicon gel cushioning material, may be interconnected with an interior portion of the covering.
The headgear additionally has a plurality of apertures positioned about the peripheral edge portion of each ear guard and a plurality of head straps. The covering includes a plurality of slots proximate the plurality of apertures. Each head strap extends through a slot and has one end secured to an aperture on one ear guard, and the other end extending through a corresponding slot and adjustably secured to a corresponding aperture on the other ear guard by releasably engagable hook and pile retainers on the head strap. Some of the straps may have both ends adjustably secured to corresponding apertures by such hook and pile type fasteners.
With the above and other objects in view, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claimed subject matter, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.